LOS ANGELES – UCLA junior Aaron Holiday has been named as one of 50 top college players to the preseason watch list for the 2018 John R. Wooden Award, presented by Wendy's, as announced this week.
The Wooden Award's preseason watch list is comprised of 50 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious individual honor.
Holiday, a 6-foot-1 guard from nearby Chatsworth, Calif., has already been selected as one of 50 student-athletes to the preseason watch list for the Citizen Naismith Trophy. In addition, Holiday was named as one of 40 student-athletes to the preseason watch list for this season's Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award.
Through the Bruins' first two regular-season games, Holiday has averaged 17.5 points, 6.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. He has averaged 37.5 minutes per game in the Bruins' two non-conference victories against Georgia Tech (Nov. 11) and Central Arkansas (Nov. 15).
Last season as a sophomore, Holiday averaged 12.3 points, 4.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. He played in all 36 games for the Bruins, who posted a 31-5 overall record en route to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16. Through his previous two seasons in Westwood, Holiday has averaged 11.4 points, 4.2 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Now in his third season at UCLA, Holiday has played in all 70 games during his tenure with the Bruins. Through his first two seasons, he shot 41.4 percent from three-point arc, which stands as the sixth-highest career average in school history.
Student-athletes selected to the Wooden Award's preseason watch list are considered strong candidates for the 2018 award. Players who are not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award's midseason list, the late-season list and the final national ballot. The award's national ballot consists of 15 top players who have proven to their universities that they are also making progress toward graduation and maintaining at least a cumulative 2.0 GPA.
Holiday and the Bruins are back in action on Friday, Nov. 17, hosting South Carolina State in Pauley Pavilion. Game time is 6 p.m. The Bruins' game against South Carolina State will be televised by the Pac-12 Network.